Abstract
Purpose
Upland rice production is often constrained by phosphorus deficiency (P) and drought events. Methods are needed to maximize P use efficiency, while promoting deep root development to mitigate drought. This study evaluates micro-dose P placement as a technique to enhance drought resilience of upland rice, thereby hypothesizing that P placement enhances deep root development, stimulated by the local P supply in the planting hole, compared to broadcast P.
Methods
Two pot experiments were conducted using P deficient upland soil in Tanzania (Expt.1) and Madagascar (Expt.2), with factorial combinations of P doses (control and two P levels), application method (placement versus broadcast), rice varieties (DJ123 & NERICA4) and water regimes (field capacity and drying periods).
Results
Micro-dose P placement strongly boosted the establishment of upland rice and enhanced P recovery rates (4- to 5-fold) and fertilizer use efficiency (9- to 14-fold) compared to broadcast P. Micro-dose P placements significantly enhanced the fraction of roots found at largest depth (> 30 cm, Expt. 1; >15 cm, Expt. 2) by 22- to 33 %. Surprisingly, shoot P concentrations were markedly lower under P placement than under broadcast at equivalent P doses or equivalent biomass, indicating a Piper-Steenbjerg effect.
Conclusions
This study is first in showing the enhanced deep rooting after basal P placement, and suggests replication at field scale where subsurface moisture may yield stronger benefits than in pots. The depleted shoot P concentrations induced by vigorous plant establishment under P placement may, however, counteract benefits at later growth stages and need further attention.
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Acknowledgements
Financial support for this study was provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, commissioned by the Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit, through the project “East African Wetlands: Optimizing sustainable production for future food security (WETLANDS)”. The work was additionally supported by the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR-UOS) through a PhD scholarship (VLADOC grant) and a mobility scholarship. One experiment was financed by a C1 project (C16/15/042) funded by the KU Leuven. We further thank Prof. Roel Merckx for his valuable inputs.
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De Bauw, P., Smolders, E., Verbeeck, M. et al. Micro‐dose placement of phosphorus induces deep rooting of upland rice. Plant Soil 463, 187–204 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04914-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04914-z